


oh, the years, they turn so fast

by lesbiansarahjacobs



Category: One Piece
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Post-Dressrosa, plausibly so because OP never specifies what time of year things happen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:28:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26868934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbiansarahjacobs/pseuds/lesbiansarahjacobs
Summary: Birthdays can be hard, especially when they mean you’ve become older than your second father. Today, Law turns twenty-seven. Robin and Usopp talk him through it.
Relationships: Nico Robin & Trafalgar D. Water Law, Trafalgar D. Water Law & Usopp
Comments: 10
Kudos: 50





	oh, the years, they turn so fast

**Author's Note:**

> i swear to god i can write normal shit that isn’t law angst. but it’s his birthday (a libra man!) so please indulge me <3  
> title is from “how are you true” by cage the elephant—it has good law vibes  
> [edit: sorry, i noticed a typo and it was going to irk me]

Law steps out onto the deck of the borrowed ship, drawing the borrowed coat around his shoulders. It’s warmer here than it would be in North Blue at this time of year, but the sea at night is always chilly. 

He walks to starboard side and leans on the railing, just to take a look at the horizon. There’s hours until sunrise, and yet he knows he’ll be wandering agitatedly until the sky begins to lighten. It’s the kind of knowledge that can only come from experience, so he settles in as best he can. 

A light call comes from across the deck. “Torao?” 

Law jumps. He hadn’t noticed anyone when he first walked out—though really, he didn’t even check, considering the late (or is it early?) hour. But now he turns around to see Usopp and Robin sitting against one of the nearby masts, the former loosely braiding the latter’s hair. 

Curiosity briefly overtakes his overwhelming wave of melancholy, and he makes his way over to sit next to them. They both grin at this, like they weren’t expecting him to acknowledge them at all. Fuck, Law’s really been a jackass the past week. “What are you two doing up so late?” 

“I could ask you the same,” Robin muses, but Usopp answers him properly.

“Insomnia Club. Sometimes Sanji joins us, but, well, you know.” 

“I didn’t realize you also had trouble sleeping,” Law says. His own rest cycle has been worse than usual without his crew around to force him to take breaks. Well, and also because of the other thing, but he doesn’t want to think about it. 

Usopp finger-combs out Robin’s hair and begins braiding it again. “The anxiety makes it hard for me. And I’m still trying to come down after the whole, uh—”

“The whole God Usopp thing?” Law asks. 

The other man focuses intently on his task, too embarrassed to look at Law. “Yeah. That.”

“You overextended yourself,” Law says. “It makes sense to still be feeling the effects.”

Despite himself, the corner of Usopp’s mouth twitches. “Thanks?” 

Law hums an acknowledgment and readjusts his coat. 

“Sometimes I have nightmares about Ohara. The library burning, people dying, barely making it out alive,” Robin says nonchalantly. “I was restless tonight, and I knew allowing myself to fall asleep would make it worse.” 

There was no need for her to share this intimate detail of her life with Law. And she did share that solely for Law’s benefit, since Usopp clearly knows her well. 

Once again, Law realizes Robin is quite skilled at providing openings in the conversation for others to share their own struggles. Even after he rebuffed her attempts at reaching out a few days ago, she’s trying again. Is his inner turmoil that obvious?

But this time, it’s 4 a.m. and the opening is much softer, so Law acquiesces. “Yes, that’s. I understand that. Tonight, it’s just my—well, I can’t get my brain to slow down.” 

Usopp nods understandingly, but Robin seems to be waiting for him to say more. 

Law looks away from them, back toward the sea. “Tomorrow—or today, I suppose—is my birthday. And it’s going to be a hard one.” 

“Why is that?” Robin asks. Usopp is done re-braiding her hair, and they switch positions with practiced ease. She begins combing her fingers over his scalp to begin braiding his hair as well, undoing his ponytail for better access. 

“Did anyone tell you—” Law stops, shakes his head, and tries again. “Do you know the history between me and Doflamingo?” 

“We pieced part of it together,” Usopp says, seemingly more comfortable with speaking to Law now. “But we haven’t heard most of it.” 

“My fault. Well, I was part of the family from ages ten to twelve, after I lost my own family. I was only able to leave because Doflamingo’s brother saved me.” Law swallows. “His name was Rocinante, but his family name was Corazon, and I called him Cora-san.” 

“Cute,” Robin says. If Law knew her better, he’d think she was teasing him. 

“He became a second father to me after he took me away from the rest of the family. Doflamingo killed him because of that betrayal.”

“I’m so sorry,” Usopp says and holds his hand out to Law. It’s an incredibly vulnerable gesture, so Law takes it. 

“Cora-san was twenty-six when he died. I turn twenty-seven today,” Law finishes. Because that’s it, really, the core of why he’s so despondent tonight. He’s outlived his mentor, which shouldn’t have happened. 

Robin, like Law himself, isn’t very expressive, but he can see in her eyes that she understands. And Usopp, of course, shows it on his face. He also squeezes Law’s hand. For some reason, that’s what pushes Law over the edge, and he roughly wipes away the beginning of a tear with his other hand. 

“My mother died when she was thirty-three,” Robin says after a minute. “In another few months, I’ll be thirty-one, and then, well.” Her hands still over Usopp’s hair.

“It’s just that—I never realized how young he was until now,” Law explains. “He was always so _old_. An actual adult. Someone who could do anything.”

“And now we’re that age, so we’re supposed to know what to do, and we don’t,” Usopp fills in.

“Yes, exactly. Could I have done what he did?” Law looks down to where his and Usopp’s hands are still joined. “I’m not sure.”

“You don’t have to be sure,” Robin says. “We’re not our parents. For better or for worse.”

“Thank god,” Usopp mutters, and he and Robin share a small laugh. Law misses being around people who know him like that. (Soon. He’ll see Bepo, Penguin, Shachi, and Ikkaku again soon.)

“Besides, Torao.” Robin makes eye contact with him now, and even though she’s definitely teasing him with that nickname, he can tell she’s being serious. “You don’t have to do what he did. You’re doing plenty on your own.” 

“You did just take down a warlord and former Celestial Dragon,” Usopp points out. 

Law deflects. “I did no more than either of you. The victory was mostly thanks to Strawhat in the end.”

Usopp tilts his head around to look at Robin, an action that Law can’t quite parse. Probably something to do with how obstinate he’s being. At any rate, Usopp turns back to Law with a mission. “Tell us about him.” 

“Who, Cora-san?” 

“Mm-hmm,” Usopp confirms as Robin gets back to her intricate braid work.

So Law reminisces, something he doesn’t do often. Because while Cora-san is always on his mind, he typically thinks of him in bursts, when his environment provides reminders: a lighter he’d like, a similar shade of lipstick, a black feather on the ground. He gives Robin and Usopp the complete picture, not just those fragments. 

Donquixote “Corazón” Rocinante was a complex man. Motivated by a purer, more idealistic love than his older brother, he died for the fruit whose power courses through Law’s veins and is responsible for his second chance at life. He let Law be a kid again—he bought him his favorite comics and helped him begin his coin collection, but really it was just that Law was being taken care of after years of having to fend for himself. 

He had a laugh that always made Law smile when he heard it. He smelled like smoke, both old and fresh, considering how often that terrible coat caught fire. He was covered with bruises from his clumsiness, and yet he was skilled enough with the nagi-nagi to successfully pull off several stealth missions. He had more of a taste for sweet things than Law did. He only got a couple haircuts as long as Law knew him, never minding the way his hair curled out from under his signature hat. He loved when Law would ramble to him about robots or coins or anatomy. His voice rumbled with rage when another hospital turned Law away, but after a while, Law found it comforting instead of frightening.

And saying all that helps Law come to terms with Cora-san’s age. He did die far too young, but he also wasn’t a paragon of virtue. He was just a kind man in his mid-20s who tried to do the right thing. Which, as Robin and Usopp tried to convey to him earlier, is also what Law is doing. 

So he tells them “thank you” once he finishes, and they nod knowingly. 

“Sometimes you just need space to remember someone,” Usopp explains. “I have a lot of practice listening to Robin.” 

She smiles wanly. “I knew many people who died too soon. My parents. My mentor, Saul. He was quite similar to your Cora-san.”

It strikes Law, fairly obviously, that communication and camaraderie is a two-way street, and there’s much about both of their pasts that he doesn’t know. “I’m very sorry to hear that. Usopp-ya, you mentioned something about this being a club?” 

He laughs nervously. “I just call it Insomnia Club as a joke. It’s nothing formal.” They’d separated hands somewhere in the middle of Law’s recollection, and Law reaches out to join them once more. 

“I was just asking because I’d like to speak to you both again.” Now, it’s his turn to be nervous as he looks away. “You’ve been very kind to me, and I’d like to learn more about you as well.” 

Law looks back, and they’re both beaming. He hesitantly smiles back. The sky has turned from black to pink, and Law would guess that an hour or two has passed. 

Robin yawns. “I think it’s about time for me to try sleeping for a while. This was beneficial for all of us, I believe.” 

“Yeah, it really relaxed me,” Usopp says through a yawn of his own. “Hey, you made me yawn.” 

“They say it’s contagious,” Law offers. “But it evolved to be so; it’s a social cue.” 

The door to the quarters downstairs opens matter-of-factly, and Zoro strides out. He nods at them. 

“What the fuck are you doing up?” Usopp asks blearily. 

“Training? Right before sunrise is when I’m most productive.” Zoro’s voice isn’t groggy in the slightest. Awful. 

Robin stands up. “That seems like a clear sign for me to head inside. Good night, Usopp, Torao. And good morning, Zoro.” 

The early bird in question seems to have already returned to his meditative zone, so Robin simply receives another nod for her greeting. 

Usopp gets up to follow her, offering his hand to help Law up. He accepts, and they both return to their sleeping quarters in drowsy tranquility. 

Law closes the door, gets in bed, and is halfway to drifting off completely when Usopp pokes his head in. “Hey, I almost forgot—happy birthday.” 

When Law does manage to fall asleep, it’s with half a contented smile on his face.

**Author's Note:**

> hope y'all like this; i wrote it up over the past few nights, which means i haven’t done the usual "obsessing over it for weeks before posting" thing lmao.  
> back to your regularly scheduled au soon!


End file.
